Garden · 28 August 2026
A wave is a circle seen over time.
Put one point on the edge of a circle. Let it travel. Its height rises, falls, and repeats. Record that height as the point moves and a sine wave appears.
Move the point. The wave follows.
Unit circle
- sin
- 0.84
- cos
- 0.54
At 90°, how high is the point on the unit circle?
Two views of one motion.
A circle gives us the repeating motion. Sine and cosine are two views of that motion. Next, change the radius to see amplitude change. Or change the rotation speed to see frequency change.